Cellar-door handle



O. C. W. BRIESE CELLAR DOOR HANDLE Filed March 31. 1923 Qcr/B Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES OTTO C. W. BRIESE, OF HOLSTEIN, IOWA.

CELLAR-D003 HANDLE.

Application filed March 31, 1923.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, O'r'ro G. l/V. BRIESE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Holstein, in the county of Ida and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cellar-Door Handles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawlngs.

The object of this invention is to provide means whereby a cellar door may be readily opened, and particularly to provide a lever attached to one flap of the cellar door and having a handle, the lever being so con- 1 structed that it provides a very convenient means whereby the flap may be swung open, the lever being so constructed that when the flap is swung open the lever is held in a convenient position for grasping, and the 20 lever providing means whereby the cellar door may be swung to without jar or shock, permitting the cellar door to be closed easily and gently. V

A further object is to provide a device of this character which is adjustable so as to fit large or small doors.

Other objects will appear in the course of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a perspective View of a cellar door showing my invention applied thereto and in position with the door closed.

Figure 2 is an elevation showing one of the flaps of the door opened and the handle held in a raised position by a latch;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation with the flap of the door in a horizontal position.

Referring to these drawings, designates one flap of a cellar door, the other flap being designated 11. Attached to the flap 10 is a plate 12, this plate having at one end the upstanding ears 13 through which passes a bolt 14. Pivoted upon this bolt is a lever section 15 which projects beyond the bolt over the plate, as at 16. The lever section 15 is formed with a collar 17 at its outer end, and having telescopic movement through this collar is a second lever section 18, the inner end of which is also formed with a collar 19 which embraces the first named" lever section. The outer end of the lever section 18 carries a handle 20. A set screw 21 passes through the collar 19 and engages the lever section 15. This permits Serial No. 629,061.

the two sections to be adjusted upon each other for length and thus renders the de vice adjustable for doors of different sizes or widths.

\Vhen the flap 10 is closed, the lever extends over the other flap 11, with the handle in convenient position for being lifted. When it is desired to open the door, the operator takes hold of the handle 20, lifts up thereon, and swings the door open, the lever, of course, giving a good purchase upon the door and permitting its easy swinging movement, and when the door has been swung open to its full extent, (see Fig. 3) the extended portion 16 or tail of the lever will engage the ground so that the lever will be held in an approximately vertical posi-.

'tion with the handle in convenient position so that it may be readily grasped to close the door. When it is desired to close the door, the handle is lifted and the flap is easily swung over to its closed position, the lever permitting the fia-p to be closed gently and easily. The device does away with the necessity of prying with the fingers beneath the edge of the opening of the flap 10 and the strain of lifting the flap and throwing it over and the jar which often bends the door when it is thrown fully open and falls upon the ground or other support. The device avoids the necessity of lifting the flap 10 in order to close it, swinging it up and letting it fall into closed position, thus jarring the door and tending to damage it and the hinges.

In order to hold the cellar door in a vertical position when it is swung open, I form the portion 16 or tail of the lever with a tooth 22 and provide at the side of the cellar door a post 23 having a latching tooth 24 thereon, with which the tooth 22 is adapted to engage when the cellar door is swung to its vertical position, This will hold the cellar door vertically and prevent its being closed by the wind or otherwise accidentally. It will be seen that the handle will stand out almost at a right angle to the top of the door and is held in this position by its own weight. By raising the lever slightly, the hook may be disengaged to let the door down. Thus my device is adapted to be used either on cellar doors which are designed to stand upright or on doors which may be turned completely over. Of course, it will be understood that the latching hook 24 might be applied to awall just as Well as to a post.

, I do not 'Wish to be limited to the particular construction illustrated, but ordinarily the plate 12 Will be of iron thick, about 2 X 4 in area. The handle will be made of 7/16 round or flat bendable iron rodand have a length of about 18". Obviously these details may be varied Without departing in any Way from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

, 1. The combination-With a cellar-door flap hinged for movement in a substantiallyvertical vplane, of means for opening the flap comprisinga plate attached to the outer face oftthe'fiap, a lever pivotedrto the plate for oscillation in the same plane as the flap itself, and having a handle at its outer end, the inner endof the lever having a prolongation beyond the pivot point thereof and adapted to hold the lever from dropping When the cellar door'flap has been fully opened.

:-2. The combination with a cellar door flap, of means for opening it comprising a plate attachable to the front of the door and having ears projecting outward'fro'm the plate,-'a bolt passing through the ears, a leverpivoted upon the bolt, the lever having anextension beyond the bolt a'ndover the plate at .one end and having a handle at the other, the lever being made in. two lonigitu: dinally ad ustable sections. V

The combination .with a cellar door flap, of means for opening it comprising a plate attachable to the front'of the doorand having ears projecting out-Ward'from the plate, a' bolt passing through the ears, a lea ver pivoted upon-"the bolt, the lever having an extension beyond the bolt and over the plate at one end and having a handle at the other, the lever being made in two longitudinally adjustable sections, each section'havmg a collar loosely surrounding the other section, a set screw passing through one of thecollars and'holding'the sections in adjusted position, one of the sections having a handle.

4:- ;Asan article of manufacture, means for opening acellar door comprising an attaching plate adapted to be attached to the cellar door flap and having ears, a bolt passing through the ears, and a longitudinally adjustable handle pivoted upon the bolt and having an extension beyond the bolt and over the plate.

5. The combination with a. cellar door flap hinged for movement in a substantially verticalnplane, of means for opening it com-V this prolongation being formed with alateral tooth, and a structural element having a keeper Wlt-ltWlllCll the tooth is adapted to engage to hold the door in a vertical p'osition. a V g The combination with a cellar door flap havingfits opening movement {in asubstantially vertical plane, hinged for movement in a substantially vertical plane, of means for opening it comprising a" supporting iember attachedtothe door adjacent the free edge of the door, a lever pivoted to vthe plate for movement in the same plane as'the movement of'the flap and having a handle, that end of the leverfremote fro nthe handle extending beyond the pivotal point thereof and being pointed and formed with a tooth, and means disposed at the side of the cellar door with which said tooth is adapted to engagewhen the door is opened to thereby hold the door from closing and hold the lever from dropping and hold the pivot and there oTTo o. W. seiner. 

